Cooking With Chilies For International Hot & Spicy Food Day
In honour of International Hot & Spicy Food Day let’s talk chili peppers! The Scoville scale is how one measures the spicy heat of chili peppers , like the jalapeño, Moruga Scorpion and the world's current hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper or any other spicy foods that one may want to know the capsaicin concentration of.
FUN FACTS:
The best way to ease the burn from flaming hot peppers or overly-spicy anything is with cold milk or yogurt. Do Not drink water as it won’t mix with the oil and will only result in moving the burning flames to other parts of your mouth or throat.
Capsaicin, is the chemical in peppers that makes them hot hot! It isn’t found in any other plant on earth and is so potent that people can identify it even when the concentration is as little as one part per million.
People who regularly eat spicy food are considered pyro-gourmaniac.
PREPARING
It is quite important to remember when working with chillies to not to touch your nose, eyes or mouth If you do, you will definitely feel the burn and should immediately flush with water. The capsaicin in the peppers may be extremely painful to your eyes and other sensitive areas. It can even burn your skin if you are not careful.
If you find you are really sensitive you should wear thin rubber gloves while preparing chili peppers.
Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water when done preparing chilies.
Is the heat intensity of chilies too hot for you? Give them a wash and remove the seeds and veins. The hottest part of the chilli is not the seeds but where the seed attaches to the white membrane inside!
Soaking the cut up chilies in salt water for at least an hour will also help cool them off a bit.
If you are aiming for a more mild pepper flavour to your dish, poke holes or slice the chilli and add it to a food that is already cooking and remove the chilli when your dish is finished cooking.
COOKING
Roasted chilies are my favourite and can be roasted whole over a gas stove, broiler, or on a grill.
Place chilli over open flame while turning frequently until the skin is blackened.
After the skin becomes blackened, place hot chillies in a bag for about 15 mins allowing them to sweat a little, this way when you pull them out of the bag the skin will slide right off.
STORING
Chilies are best when stored unwashed and wrapped in paper towels in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
Dried chilies should be stored in airtight containers and will last about four months.
To keep dried chilies for longer, go ahead and store them in the refrigerator.
Have fun cooking with chillies!